PS3017 Liking for music

PS3017 Psychology of Music : PS3017 Psychology of Music Liking for music The problem music debate Music and commerce http://www.le.ac.uk/pc/acn5/acn.html


WARNING!!! : WARNING!!! Course changed in 2005-6 Ignore questions on earlier past papers set by Mike Beauvois about auditory stream segregation etc. You can trust questions on past papers about musical preference, music and commerce, and the problem music debate Questions this year will all be on these topics


Examples of typical exam questions : Examples of typical exam questions Questions as per past papers still very likely Evaluation of Berlyne’s theory as a complete theory of musical preference, what are the effects of music in shops, does problem music pose a problem for society? Newer, more detailed, questions now possible also What factors specific to the individual can explain responses to music? How is a listener’s age and / or personality related to his / her musical preference? What have economics and business studies contributed to our understanding of what music becomes popular? How does music affect customers in commercial environments? Discuss whether musical behaviour is a product of intra- and inter-group processes Is the idolisation of musicians a good or a bad thing for the fans concerned? Should pop music be subject to censorship? No nasty surprises i.e. no questions based on one or two slides only Only ‘big’ topics lead to questions


How to get high marks : How to get high marks Lots of extra reading i.e. not just book chapters but LOTS of papers (and demonstrate that you’ve read them) Read up to date material (so use Psyc-info) Dip into other subjects (since much of the material can be found on ASSIA, Business Source Premier, Medline, Econlit etc.) Think How do different theories relate to each other, what are the limitations of existing areas of research, how can the findings be applied in the real world (e.g. policy, commerce, therapy etc.) Demonstrate it in the exam Don’t worry too much about names and dates of minor studies You should know names and dates for big theories Spend revision time thinking and reading and NOT learning names and publication dates of minor studies It’s safe to criticise my research But only if you must!


Plan of the module : Plan of the module Three ‘big’ topics spread over the lectures Liking for music Problem music, censorship, and subculture Music and commerce


Liking for music : Liking for music


What music do you like? : What music do you like? Who is your favourite musician and why? Many different reasons


What music do you like? : What music do you like? Who is your favourite musician and why? Many different reasons North and Hargreaves (2002) Channel 4 Television, The Guardian, and HMV ‘Who are the three best pop groups / musicians?’ 12502 people responded leading to over 37,000 nominations The Beatles (2289), Bob Dylan (1038), Oasis (937), Radiohead (921), Pink Floyd (718), David Bowie (571), Van Morrison (523), Stone Roses (475), U2 (444), Nirvana (437) Same top 10 when divided into two random piles or by region


What music do you like? (cont.) : What music do you like? (cont.) Farnsworth (1969) and classical music fashions Broad agreement on ‘the greatest’ shows there must be rules governing reactions to music Massive disagreement between individuals shows that these rules must be complicated!


Liking for music : Liking for music The music Berlyne Preference for prototypes Berlyne vs. prototypes The situation Konečni’s work Prototypicality and appropriateness The individual Age Non-human animals Gender Social class Personality Extra-musical information Conformity effects Informational influence Physical attractiveness Music in everyday life


The music : The music


Berlyne’s theory : Berlyne’s theory Inverted-U between liking and arousal potential Three aspects of music mediate arousal Psychophysical (e.g. tempo), ecological (e.g. memories), collative (e.g. familiarity, complexity) Why? On way to cortex the fibres of the RAS pass through pleasure and displeasure centres Pleasure centre has lower threshold and asymptotic level Makes adaptive sense – something very arousing could be dangerous Try it for yourself


Evidence for Berlyne’s theory : Evidence for Berlyne’s theory Several lab studies support Berlyne’s theory ‘Real world’ evidence Unfamiliar music is often derided at first Classical, jazz, and pop Erdelyi (1940) Sales of sheet music (i.e. liking) and radio plugging (i.e. familiarity) Inverted-U relationship Plugging (i.e. changes in familiarity) preceded sales (i.e. changes in liking) by 13 days Jakobovits (1966) Inverted-U between sales and plugging Frequency of plugging predicted the speed of rise and fall in popularity Simonton (1987) Inverted-U in Beethoven’s work between popularity (e.g. concert performances) and ‘two-note transition probabilities’ Simonton (1980; 1986) String quartet music is most complex, operas are least complex Composers compensate for arousal from the number of instruments by writing different types of melody


The relationship between liking, familiarity and complexity : The relationship between liking, familiarity and complexity Familiarity reduces subjective complexity As you know a piece better it’s easier to predict what it will do next Increasing familiarity pushes a song left-wards on the inverted-U Might explain Slower sales charts for classical than pop Why people hate modern classical music Why musically trained people like classical music more


Familiarity, complexity, and The Beatles : Familiarity, complexity, and The Beatles


Berlyne and emotional responses to music : Berlyne and emotional responses to music


Preference for prototypes : Preference for prototypes Prototypicality is the extent to which a given stimulus is typical of it’s class People classify things more easily if they correspond with a prototype Prototypical things should be preferred because they are classified more easily Try it for yourself Prototypicality explains preference better than does Berlyne Martindale and Moore (1989) found 4% complexity and 51% prototypicality Seven other studies found the same


Berlyne versus prototypes? : Berlyne versus prototypes? BUT just because prototypicality explains more we shouldn’t discard Berlyne’s theory Importance of typicality and ‘Berlynian’ factors in preference depends on the extent to which the music varies in these E.g. different dance music tracks vary little in arousal (i.e. >90 bpm, simple melody etc.) Prototypicality has to explain more of variance in liking between the different tracks than does complexity Variations in arousal are also variations in prototypicality E.g. dance is usually fast tempo so any variation in this Berlynian factor (i.e. tempo) also influences the extent to which any given track is typical of ‘dance music’ Variations in any factor are also variations in prototypicality E.g. the music you listen to has a typical level of arousal, typical frequency of mentioning ‘dog’ in the lyrics etc. Prototypicality is a broader-ranging variable than arousal so it has to explain more


The listening situation : The listening situation


Konecni’s theory : Konecni’s theory Berlyne said we prefer music that causes moderate arousal Konečni (1982) said that we prefer music that moderates arousal evoked by the situation Arousing situations = simple music Dull situations = arousing music Insulted subjects prefer simple music Works in reverse also People played arousing (i.e. loud, complex) music are more aggressive They use the situation to moderate arousal caused by the music


Prototypicality and appropriateness : Prototypicality and appropriateness Is arousal moderation everything? Appropriateness = typical of music usually heard in a given place Positive relationship between liking and appropriateness Arousal goals rather than moderation in the listening situation North and Hargreaves (2000) People either ride an exercise bike or relax and then select music Arousal moderation strategy as per Konečni People either ride an exercise bike or relax while selecting music Arousal polarising strategy Situational arousal-based goal determines preference Explains why we like loud music in a gym but turn down car radio in heavy traffic


The individual : The individual Age Open-earedness Critical periods The unborn Non-human animals Animal welfare Musical preferences Gender Attitudes towards music Preferences Uses of music Social class Personality Introversion / extraversion Sensation-seeking Conservatism Rebelliousness


Age : Age LeBlanc and ‘open-earedness’ Tolerance for a range of styles ‘(a) younger children are more open-eared, (b) open-earedness declines as the child enters adolescence, (c) there is a partial rebound of open-earedness as the listener matures from adolescence to young adulthood, and (d) open-earedness declines as the listener matures to old age’ (LeBlanc, 1991, p.2) LeBlanc, Sims, Siivola, and Obert (1993) Preference judgements from 2262 6-91 year olds for 30-second recordings of ‘art music’, trad jazz, and rock Generally conformed the model for overall responses, and within each of the three styles There was an ‘adolescent dip’ in preference, followed by an increase towards adulthood, and a final decrease in preference in old age


Age : Age Two problems … Why should there be an ‘adolescent dip’? Is there only an ‘adolescent dip’ for music chosen by researchers? North and Hargreaves (1999) Five age groups nominate and rate liking for as many types of a) rock and pop b) classical music and c) jazz as possible Unsurprisingly, younger people liked rock and pop, older people preferred classical and jazz BUT mean liking was consistent across all age groups When people select their own music to respond to the adolescent (and any other) dip disappears Rather different age groups simply have their own musical preferences Leads onto the next age-related influence on musical preference …


Age : Age Here is a list of pop musicians who have all had a British number 1 single between 1955 and 1994. Pick a few that you like best …


Slide26 : Perry Como, The Dave Clarke Five, Mud, Wham, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The Searchers, The Rubettes, Frankie Laine, The Bachelors, The Three Degrees, A-Ha, Guy Mitchell, Cilla Black, David Essex, George Michael, Peter & Gordon, Status Quo, Rosemary Clooney, U2, Bill Haley & His Comets, The Animals, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Chaka Khan, Pat Boone, The Rolling Stones, Slik, Sister Sledge, B-52s, Tommy Steele, Manfred Mann, The Bay City Rollers, T’Pau, Frankie Vaughan, Lonnie Donegan, The Kinks, David Bowie, Eurythmics, Herman’s Hermits, Elvis Presley, The Supremes, The Four Seasons, Madonna, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Moody Blues, Whitney Houston, Leo Sayer, Pet Shop Boys, Paul Anka, The Righteous Brothers, Hot Chocolate, The Everly Brothers, Wings, The Hollies, Mel & Kim, Kate Bush, Conway Twitty, Sandie Shaw, The Commodores, M/A/R/R/S, The Byrds, Shirley Bassey, Russ Conway, KLF, Walker Brothers, The Spencer Davis Group, Boney M, Dusty Springfield, Wet Wet Wet, Buddy Holly, Georgie Fame, 2 Unlimited, Cliff Richard, The Small Faces, Whigfield, Blondie, The Boomtown Rats, Bobby Darin, The Troggs, Gary Numan, Adam Faith, The Shadows, The Four Tops, Take That, Joe Cocker, Marvin Gaye, The Police, Anthony Newley, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ace Of Base, Johnny Preston, The Beach Boys, Eddie Cochran, Bryan Adams, Mungo Jerry, The Wonder Stuff, Jimmy Jones, Simon & Garfunkel, Snap, Ricky Valance, The Monkees, Dr. Hook, The Specials, Dr. Alban, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, The Jam, Seal, Roy Orbison, Smokey Robinson, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Petula Clark, Jimi Hendrix, Aswad, Roxy Music, The Marcels, Black Box, T-Rex, Floyd Cramer, Rod Stewart, Bros, Slade, The Temperance Seven, Adam & The Ants, Enya, Kylie Minogue, Del Shannon, Don McLean, Donny Osmond, Michael Jackson, Soft Cell, Simple Minds, The Bangles, Helen Shapiro, Human League, Kraftwerk, David Cassidy, Ray Charles, Sinead O’Connor, Madness, The Tornados, Lisa Stansfield, Frank Ifield, Culture Club, Kajagoogoo, The Searchers, Sweet, Vanilla Ice, The Stylistics, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Enigma, The Beatles, James, Duran Duran, The Waterboys, 10cc, Brian Poole & The Tremeloes, Terry Jacks, Roxette, Billy Joel, Wizzard, Danny Williams, Eden Kane, Spandau Ballet, Paul Young, Craig Douglas, Men At Work, Mariah Carey, Buck’s Fizz, Erasure, Boyz II Men, Peters & Lee, The Platters, Shakin’ Stevens, Brian & Michael, Tasmin Archer, Gary Glitter, Tommy Edwards, Chicory Tip, Brotherhood Of Man, Gabrielle , David Soul, Vic Damone, Thunderclap Newman, Culture Beat, Harry Belafonte, Manhattan Transfer, Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Haddaway, John Denver, Andy Williams, Marmalade, Janet Jackson, The Teenagers, Alvin Stardust, Dickie Valentine, Engelbert Humperdinck, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Sonny & Cher, Jason Donovan, Glenn Medeiros, Rick Astley


Age and critical periods : Age and critical periods North and Hargreaves (1995) 9-10 years, 14-15 years, 18-24 years, 25-49 years, and 50+ years All shown the same list of 200 pop groups and singers who had all enjoyed a number 1 single in the United Kingdom charts 50 had had their first number 1 between 1955 and 1964, 50 had had their first number 1 between 1965 and 1974 etc. Choose up to 30 from the list “who in your own personal opinion have performed music that deserves to be called to the attention of others”


50+ year olds : 50+ year olds 10. Petula Clarke 9. The Bachelors 8. The Shadows = 3. Perry Como / Shirley Bassey / Cliff Richard / Harry Belafonte / Andy Williams 2. Simon & Garfunkel 1. The Beatles


25-49 year olds : 25-49 year olds 10. U2 9. The Beach Boys 8. Jimi Hendrix 7. The Police 5=. Eurythmics / Rolling Stones 4. Elvis Presley 3. Simon & Garfunkel 2. David Bowie 1. The Beatles


18-24 year olds : 18-24 year olds 10. Rolling Stones 9. George Michael 8. The Police 7. Jimi Hendrix 6. Madonna 5. Eurythmics 4. Elvis Presley 3. Madness 2. U2 1. The Beatles


14-15 year olds : 14-15 year olds 9=. U2 / Take That 8. Haddaway 7. Whitney Houston 5. Bryan Adams 4. Elvis Presley 1=. Madonna / Wet Wet Wet / The Beatles


9-10 year olds : 9-10 year olds 10=. Take That / Janet Jackson 9. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 8. Ace of Base 6=. Madonna / Michael Jackson 5. Pet Shop Boys 3=. The Beatles / Elvis Presley 2. Wet Wet Wet 1. 2 Unlimited


Age : Age ‘Golden greats’ always do well but late adolescence / early adulthood critical period Further evidence from North and Hargreaves (2002) 12502 people nominated the greatest musician (from HMV, The Guardian, and Channel 4) Calculated the mean year in which people’s nominated musicians achieved their first top 10 UK album Late adolescence / early adulthood critical period Under 19 year olds =1990, 19-34 year olds = 1983, 35-54 year olds = 1975, 55+ year olds = 1971


Age : Age Holbrook and Schindler agree “Preferences toward popular music appear to reflect tastes acquired during late adolescence or early adulthood”. (Holbrook and Schindler, 1989, p.119) They find the same for preferences for movies (Holbrook and Schindler, 1996), the appearances of male and female movie stars (Holbrook and Schindler, 1994), males’ preferences for automobile styles (Schindler and Holbrook, 2003), mens’ tastes in female fashion models’ personal appearance (Schindler and Holbrook, 1993), and among 21 other categories such as novels, talk-show hosts, soft drinks, cereals, and toothpastes (Holbrook, 1995). Haack’s (1988) nominations of the top 10 songs of all time (1945-1982) showed preference for music that was popular while participants were in their mid-20s


Age : Age Why? At least three possibilities … 1. Analogous to imprinting Young animals at a critical stage in their development form a strong and irreversible attachment to a parent Late adolescence / early adulthood period represents a time of maximal sensitivity toward and liking for any music that we might hear 2. Peer influences or associations with certain rites of passage 3. Nostalgia Holbrook’s notion of ‘nostalgia-proness’ (e.g. ‘Things used to be better in the old days’, ‘Things are getting worse all the time’) Preferences for movie stars and movies both showed an earlier age-related peak among nostalgia-prone participants than among those scoring lower on this variable


Age : Age Two final points about critical periods … Peak liking may be not for music released at this time but instead for music we first became aware of during late adolescence / early adulthood May explain enduring popularity of Elvis and The Beatles - their music was present during everyone’s critical period Only way for critical periods research to explain how we like music released before we were adolescent (e.g. most classical music!) Certainly explains the common observation that “today’s pop music is rubbish compared with that of {insert year of your choice}”


Age : Age Music in the womb Hepper (1991) Experiment 1 - newborns Newborns exposed to the theme of a popular TV programme (e.g. Neighbours) during gestation exhibited changes in heart rate, number of movements, and behavioural state two to four days after birth (although these effects disappeared by 21 days of age) Experiment 2 – third trimester foetuses Foetuses between 29 and 37 weeks of gestational age exhibited changes in their movements when they were played a tune they had already heard earlier during pregnancy Effects in both experiments were specific to the music heard previously rather than to any music Foetus is not simply responding to an external stimulant, but has instead learnt the specific music


Age : Age Shahidullah and Hepper (1993) foetus will first respond to acoustic stimulation at 20 weeks of gestational age Lecanuet, Graniere-Deferre, Jacquet, and DeCasper (2000) foetuses at 36-39 weeks could distinguish different piano notes Responses to music develop while in the womb Shahidullah and Hepper (1994) foetuses at 35 weeks could better distinguish pure tone frequencies than could foetuses at 27 weeks Kisilevsky, Hains, Jacquet, Granier-Deferre, and Lecanuet (2004) Foetuses at 28-32 weeks showed an increase in heart rate to Brahms’ Lullaby played at 105 or 110 decibels Over time the foetuses reacted to quieter music Older foetuses are better able to pay attention to music


Age : Age Implications of music in the womb Development post-birth (Lafuente, Grifol, Segarra, Soriano, Gorba, and Montesinos, 1998) Pre-natal music can have a positive impact on a child’s post-natal development. Women in the last third of their pregnancy wore a waistband containing loudspeakers connected to a tape recorder After birth the mothers then noted the age at which their babies developed a range of behaviours (e.g. gross and fine motor activities, linguistic development) Those exposed to the music developed earlier We need a broad definition of ‘music listening’ and ‘musical preference’ Not just teenagers listening to iPods in their bedrooms Medical implications Understanding of the development of hearing and the early detection of deafness Hepper and Shahidullah (1992) - the rate of habituation to a foetal auditory stimulus may discriminate children who will from those who will not be born with Down’s syndrome If music learning occurs mid-pregnancy then implications for abortion law?


Non-human animals : Non-human animals Well-known ethological research on birdsong i.e. functions (e.g. territory marking) and learning (e.g. regional accents) Research aimed at understanding human perception of music has considered how animals use and perceive music Growing evidence concerning specifically how non-human animals react to music impact of music on animal welfare the existence and modification of musical preferences in non-human animals


Non-human animals : Non-human animals Animal welfare http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/4665252.stm Consistent with Konečni’s arousal moderation Calming music may counteract the stress of captivity Wells, Graham, and Hepper (2002) Human conversation, classical music (most soothing), heavy metal music (least soothing), pop music, and a control to 50 dogs in an animal rescue shelter Classical music led to the dogs spending more time resting, more time quiet, and less time standing - behaviours “suggestive of relaxation” (p.385) Heavy metal led to the dogs spending more time barking


Non-human animals : Non-human animals North, MacKenzie, and Hargreaves (unpublished) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1408434.stm Fast and slow tempo music to dairy cows in crowded winter shelters Milk yield indicates well-being 3% higher yield in the slow than the fast music condition McCarthy, Ouimet, and Daun (1992) Exposing rats to stimulating rock music reduced ability to heal wounds Peretto and Kippschull (1991) Played music to mice over two weeks “(1) classical music produced more interaction … (4) easy listening increased huddling; and (5) rock tended to increase aggression but decrease sexual activity” (p.51)


Non-human animals : Non-human animals Two other studies harder to explain in terms of Konečni still show welfare effects Uetakea, Hurnika, and Johnson (1997) 19 cows over a 69 day period The number of cows accessing milking compartments of an automatic milking machine increased from 22.3% in the absence of music up to 45.0% when music was played Line, Markowitz, Morgan, and Strong (1991) Increasing the cage size of macaques was ineffective for welfare relative to the provision of music under their control Many captive animals now given artistic activities Henley (1992) talks about captive apes, elephants, and dolphins BUT Cloutier, Weary, and Fraser (2000, p.107) Music did not improve condition of piglets during handling and weaning


Non-human animals : Non-human animals Musical preferences exist in non-humans McDermott and Hauser (2004) Tamarin monkeys have sound preferences Different to those of humans exposed to the same materials King, West, and White (2003) Adult and juvenile female cowbirds’ preferences for different types of birdsong could be modified Okaichi and Okaichi (2001) Rats could discriminate the original from a version of Yesterday performed by one of the experimenters Could distinguish the music of Mozart Could distinguish music and white noise


Non-human animals : Non-human animals Payne (2000) Songs of humpback whales arise through improvisation rather than by accident or as conveyors of information Clear musical thematic structure McAdie, Foster, Temple, and Matthews (1993) Hens could distinguish between music, and the sounds of a water-hose, poultry, and a train Porter, Reed, and Neuringer (1984) Pigeons could discriminate between Bach flute music and Hindemith viola music, and between Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and a Bach organ piece amongst others College students responded similarly “The pigeon’s response to complex auditory events may be more like the human's than is often assumed” (p.138).


Non-human animals : Non-human animals Non-humans have responses to music that are not very dissimilar from those of humans Implications For music psychology How and why do these apparent preferences emerge? Does music help welfare because of aesthetic effects or simply by masking background noise? For research on animals Are we really experimenting on inferior ‘dumb animals’? For the food business Happy animals taste better: if music does help then what music is best? But non-vegetarians may be eating a Coldplay fan for dinner tonight


Gender : Gender Evidence on three aspects Attitudes, preferences, uses of music Females have more positive attitudes and participate more North, Hargreaves, and O’Neill (2000) 2465 13-14 year olds asked do you play an instrument 64.7% of the musicians were female, 35.3% were male Eccles, Wigfield, Harold, and Blumenfeld (1993) Girls regard themselves as more musically-competent than do boys Colley, Comber, and Hargreaves (1994) Liking for school music lessons in 11-13 year olds was associated with higher Femininity scores on Boldizar’s Children’s Sex Role Inventory Comber, Hargreaves, and Colley (1993) This pattern may be changing Boys are more positive than girls in their attitudes towards music technology More music technology in National Curriculum


Gender : Gender No short-term differences in preference for individual pieces of music Sopchack (1955) - men and women were equally responsive to music Over the long-term, females prefer ‘softer’ musical styles North and Hargreaves (2005) Survey of 2532 people aged 12-85 years Females disproportionately liked chart pop, disco, musicals Males disproportionately liked rock and rap Same results from other studies (e.g. Robinson, Weaver, and Zillmann, 1996; Took and Weiss, 1994) Why the long-term difference?


Gender : Gender Is this a reason why you like your favourite music? Please answer yes or no To enjoy the music To help me get through difficult times To be trendy or cool To create an image for myself To express my feelings / emotions To please or impress my friends To reduce loneliness


Gender : Gender Gender differences in uses of music North, Hargreaves, O’Neill (2000) Why do you listen to music? Males ‘create an impression to others’ (e.g. ‘to be cool’, ‘create an image for myself’) Females ‘satisfy emotional needs’ (e.g. ‘express my emotions’, ‘get through difficult times’, ‘reduce tension and stress’) Generally, gender is studied little in its own right Usually only in terms of interaction with other factors Gender is a red herring Other factors explain much more E.g. the situation – even though they’re female, women in the gym listen to loud, fast music not slow, quiet music E.g. age – even though a male, my Dad hated heavy rock


Social class : Social class Sociologists in 1960s and 1970s argued for massification Homogeneity reduces financial risk to music industry Others (e.g. Bourdieu, 1971; 1984) argued for diversification Upper social classes control means of cultural production They ‘legitimise’ some art and not other art They preserve legitimised art for themselves (e.g. classical music) In practical terms Upper social classes should like classical music and opera more Musical taste in determined by your position in society Led to research on ‘taste publics’ A socioeconomic sub-group of the population who share particular tastes


Social class : Social class Taste publics defined by social class (e.g. income) are linked to musical preference Fox and Wince (1975) ‘Jazz-blues’ taste public related positively to hometown size, father’s education and occupation, and being atheist, agnostic, or Jewish Dimaggio and Useem (1978) In past 12 months 18% of professionals had attended a symphony concert versus 4% of manual workers North and Hargreaves’ (2005) lifestyle survey found day-to-day evidence for this e.g. access to financial resources (e.g. credit cards), spending on food, drinking wine (rather than beer etc.), education (e.g. PhDs), choice of radio stations, choice of TV programmes etc.


Social class : Social class Criticisms of research on taste publics They are poorly-defined and hypothetical “Surely, nobody is able to stake out the actual taste publics of heavy metal, reggae, or folk music” (Zillmann and Gan, 1997, p.172) Patterns of legitimation are changing constantly e.g. jazz used to be regarded as a type of pop music The research therefore gets outdated very quickly Hard to think of acclaimed music that does not satisfy both legitimate, high-brow aesthetic and non-legitimate, low brow aesthetic ‘Great music’ tends to have artistic value and also to sell by the truckload


Personality : Personality Not researched much The role of music in personality has not been addressed i.e. we sometimes listen to a particular piece to express a trait and sometimes to compensate for that same trait (e.g. listen to aggressive music to pump us up further or as catharsis) Therefore some traits (e.g. extraversion) do not always lead reliably to particular musical preferences


Personality : Personality Other factors more clear-cut and imply reflection of personality rather than compensation Sensation-seeking The need for varied, novel, and complex experiences, and the willingness to take physical and social risks for the sake of obtaining such experiences Links to liking for heavy music Which tends to be loud and fast, to deal with risqué themes in its lyrics, and to be the subject of visually dynamic live performances e.g. Arnett, 1991, 1992 Kim, Kwak, and Chang, 1998; McNamara and Ballard, 1999 Litle and Zuckerman (1986) High sensation seekers also more likely to get emotionally involved with music


Personality : Personality Conservatism i.e. anti-abortion, death penalty etc. Another instance of reflection of personality rather than compensation for it People low on conservatism prefer ‘problem music’ styles such as rock and rap McLeod, Detenber, and Eveland (2001) Participants with conservative attitudes were most likely to support music censorship: participants who listened to ‘problem’ music lyrics did not support their censorship Lynxwiler and Gay (2000) Participants who held conservative attitudes toward sexuality and those who attended religious services disliked heavy metal and rap Glasgow and Cartier (1985) Conservatives prefer simple, familiar, and ‘safe’ artistic objects


Personality : Personality Rebelliousness and heavy metal / rap fans Another instance of reflection of personality rather than compensation for it Robinson, Weaver, and Zillmann (1996) Undergraduates who scored highly on measures of psychoticism and reactive rebelliousness enjoyed rebellious videos more than did participants who scored low on these factors Bleich, Zillmann, and Weaver (1991) Highly rebellious participants consumed less non-defiant rock music Dillmann-Carpentier, Knobloch, and Zillmann (2003) Liking for defiant music was related to forms of rebelliousness


Personality : Personality Factors indicative of rebelliousness give rise to similar results McCown, Keiser, Mulhearn, and Williamson (1997) Psychoticism related to a preference for music with ‘exaggerated bass’ Hansen and Hansen (1991) Heavy metal fans were higher on ‘Machiavellianism’ and ‘machismo’, and were lower on measures of need for cognition than were non-fans Hansen and Hansen (1990) Experimental exposure to antisocial music videos increased participants’ tolerance of antisocial behaviour (i.e. an obscene hand gesture) as compared with exposure to non-antisocial videos. Yee et al (1988) Heavy metal fans have positive attitudes to pre-marital sex, drug and alcohol use, and satanism Trostle (1986) Heavy metal fans have greater belief in witchcraft and the occult Arnett (1991) Heavy metal fans more prone to dangerous driving, shoplifting, and vandalism


Extra-musical information : Extra-musical information Compliance effects Informational influence effects


Compliance effects : Compliance effects Some evidence that listeners will ‘go along’ with the musical judgements of the majority Radocy (1975) Music students played a ‘standard tone’ and then three comparisons Four confederates answer first (sometimes incorrectly) Conformity to incorrect confederates on 30% of trials involving pitch judgements and 49% of volume judgement trials Furman and Duke (1988) Similar method to Radocy No compliance in musical preferences when judging pop music Non-music students complied when judging orchestral (i.e. unfamiliar) music Inglefield (1968) School pupils’ compliance greatest in judgement of jazz (i.e. unfamiliar) Crowther (1985) Each person chooses continually between four channels (two liked, two disliked) (False) feedback on what others were listening to When person thinks the majority are listening to the disliked channel they tend to listen also


Informational influence : Informational influence Occur when we have little knowledge about the music and so base judgement on external sources Rigg (1948) Six pieces (three by Wagner) rated for enjoyment Played again – one group told Wagner was a Hitler favourite, one told nothing, and one heard a description of the music Enjoyment ratings increased in all cases, but least in the ‘Hitler’ group and most in the ‘description’ group Alpert (1982) Approval of classical music by a teacher and a DJ increased liking for classical music Fiese (1990) Misattributing pieces to Bach and Beethoven influenced judgements of musical quality Geiger (1950) A programme of ‘popular gramophone music’ received only half the radio audience when it was repeated a week later as a programme of ‘classical music’


Informational influence: evaluation of music by females : Informational influence: evaluation of music by females Lists of the ‘greats’ are male-dominated Farnsworth’s all-male top 10 classical composers One female (Annie Lennox) among 10 favourite pop musicians, and no female classical music composer received more than a single nomination (North and Hargreaves, 1996) A ‘special case’ of informational influence? Goldberg (1968) Females read articles attributed to males or females Articles allegedly by males were given higher ratings on 44 of the 54 measures (e.g. competence) Colley, North, and Hargreaves (2003) Anti-female bias in new age music when people told composer’s (supposed) name North, Colley, and Hargreaves (2003) Specific reactions to the music (e.g. ‘gentle’ or ‘soothing’) influenced by gender stereotypes


Informational influence: evaluation of music by attractive people : Informational influence: evaluation of music by attractive people ‘What is beautiful is good’ North and Hargreaves (1997) 20 pieces of pop music and a picture of the ‘performer’ Attractive performers more poised, sophisticated, emotionally warm, feminine, intelligent, and likely to be popular (rather than talentless idiots) Music by attractive performers liked more, perceived as possessing more artistic merit, and as being more sophisticated, intelligent, and likely to be popular Same effects for performers who were the same-sex as participant Wapnick, Darrow, Kovacs, and Dalrymple (1997) Evaluations of classical music singers higher when audiovisual (rather than audio-only) performance presented Attractive females were judged to perform better than unattractive females even when audio-only presented Several other studies repeat the latter Attractive performers must also receive better training


Music in everyday life : Music in everyday life


Music in everyday life : Music in everyday life Responses to music involve an interaction of four elements The music (e.g. arousal, prototypicality) The listening situation (e.g. arousal-evoking qualities, appropriateness) The listener (e.g. age, sex, personality) Extra-musical information (e.g. compliance, informational influence) We must study music in this complete context Cannot just isolate the music, listener, or listening situation Must study musical behaviour in everyday contexts Particularly important because of digital revolution Internet music retailers, high capacity portable music players, digital broadcasting Can listen to whatever, whenever, wherever we want … Music may be worth less as it is less scarce High control over music means we might use music to achieve very specific ends in very specific circumstances


Music in everyday life : Music in everyday life North, Hargreaves, and Hargreaves (2004) 346 people sent one text per day over 14 days Questionnaire about who, what, when, where, and why Who? Only 26.3% of listening episodes occurred while participants were on their own What? Classical music accounted for only 3% of listening episodes When? Music more commonly experienced in the evening (esp. 22.00-22.59), and at weekends rather than weekdays Where? Only 50.1% of music listening episodes occurred within the home


Music in everyday life : Music in everyday life Why? Three predictions based on digital revolution Music is common Could be heard on 38.6% of those occasions on which participants received their text Music perceived as being worth little Music was the main thing they were doing in only 26.4% of musical experiences Only 11.9% of episodes occurred while participants were deliberately listening to music either at home or in a concert Disinterested and passive attitude (e.g. ‘It helped to create the right atmosphere’ rather that ‘It aided my attempts to do what I was trying to do’) Music used to achieve very specific goals in specific settings Participants thought that music had different functions depending on who they were with, what music they could hear, when they listened to it, and where they were listening